


Box Freezer

by Astral_Space_Dragon



Category: Devil May Cry
Genre: Angst and Feels, Angst with a Happy Ending, Depressed Dante (Devil May Cry), Family, Family Feels, Gen, Ice Cream
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-29
Updated: 2020-11-29
Packaged: 2021-03-09 17:53:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,923
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27770320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Astral_Space_Dragon/pseuds/Astral_Space_Dragon
Summary: After the Temen-ni-gru, Dante got himself a box freezer. Just a place to store frozen meals and such.Until he finds a variety of strawberry ice creams.Inspired by a convo on Discord where I exchanged a headcanon with a friendo about Dante owning a box freezer filled with ice cream. I, of course, had to write it out and make it a little emotional :P
Relationships: Dante & Nero (Devil May Cry), Dante & Vergil (Devil May Cry), Nero & Vergil (Devil May Cry)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 85





	Box Freezer

**Author's Note:**

> For context: This is a box freezer ------> https://www.equippers.com/images/ka0830_l.jpg

When Dante got the box freezer after the Temen-ni-gru debacle, he thought nothing of it. Just a place to store extra food. He has it stored in his basement. The perfect place, it didn't take up space on the shop's main floor.

For the longest time, he used the box freezer for exactly that. The freezer held meats, frozen waffles and frozen tv dinners that Dante referred to as "Single Man Meals".

Then one day it was out of the blue. On a whim.

Dante was doing some quick grocery shopping and he had gotten a few of the usual frozen tv dinners. The last job paid really well; he felt like treating himself.

Then he headed to the ice cream section…

He thought he was going to pass out. There were SO MANY types of strawberry ice creams!

"Holy shit…"

He stared at each carton, reading each and every flavor: Strawberry Cheesecake, Double Strawberry Twist, Strawberries & Cream, Strawberry Shortcake; even the plain strawberry ice creams looked amazing.

And that's how Dante, age 35, bought five different tubs of ice cream.

After getting home, he immediately put the frozen dinners and the tubs of ice cream in the box freezer.

After finishing a quick job, he took a quick shower and crashed onto the couch.

About three hours, later he was jolted awake by a nightmare. He checked the clock.  _ 3:16am… _

He was about to lay back down when he felt his stomach rumble.

He slowly got up and headed to the basement. He opened the box freezer and was about to grab a frozen dinner when his gaze turned to the ice cream tubs.

He shrugged and wordlessly grabbed the Double Strawberry Twist.

Grabbing a (somewhat) clean spoon from a drawer, Dante plopped into his chair and started to dig into the frozen treat.

The first bite helped the pain in his chest. But only a little bit.

As he ate the ice cream, his eyes scanned the cold darkness of his shop.

\---------------------------------

Lady and Trish were quick to learn to not touch the ice cream in the box freezer.

Lady made the mistake of eating a tub of the Strawberry Cheesecake and the look she got from Dante was one she never wanted to see.

Trish joked about taking the box of those Strawberry Shortcake bars and that earned her the deepest growl from the red devil.

Needless to say, they all learned to not touch the ice cream, lest they want to be on the red hunter's shit list.

\---------------------------------

\---------------------------------

\---------------------------------

**_Three years later_ **

Dante watched with a ghost of a smile as Nero and Kyrie walked amongst the broken asphalt on Fortuna.

_ You're a good kid, Nero… _

When he returned to the shop, he immediately headed down to the basement and grabbed a tub of Strawberry Cheesecake ice cream.

During the following weeks, it was the same routine, the same grind; until Nero decided to pop in one day.

Just as Dante was about to leave to do some grocery shopping, Nero stepped into the shop "Old man!"

Dante gave a quick wave "Kid"

Nero notices Dante getting ready to leave "Is this a bad time?"

Dante shook his head "Nah. Just going to get the shopping done"

"Oh…"

"Wanna come with? Might find something for you"

Nero shrugged "I guess"

Dante chuckled "Let's go, then"

Once at the store, Dante grabbed a basket and went grab the usual.

"So kid" Dante spoke up as he wondered which can of ravioli to get "Mind telling this old hunter what you're doing off the island?"

Another shrug from the kid "I don't know…"

Dante suddenly realized "Isn't this your first time off the island?"

Nero nodded "Yeah… I…" he blushed "I had a hard time finding the place"

"You should have told me you were coming. I would've met you at the docks"

"It's fine"

"How're ya liking the mainland, then?"

Nero glanced around the large store "It's… big"

"Little overwhelming for you, then?"

"No!" Nero answered quickly with a scowl. Dante knew better, though.

"Sure, kid" he headed to the frozen aisle for his frozen dinners and ice cream "Well, if you do have any questions about the big wide mainland, just ask"

"Sure"

After Dante grabbed a few frozen dinners, he headed for the ice cream.

As he grabbed a few tubs of the Triple Strawberry Dreams, he asked Nero "What do ya like, kid?"

Nero was snapped from his thoughts "Huh?"

"Ice cream. What do you like? Strawberry? Chocolate?"

Nero scratched the tip of his nose "I've always liked caramel. Fortuna doesn't always have it, though…"

Dante froze for a moment.  _ Just like dad… _

Dante looked over the various caramel ice creams "You like salted caramel?"

"I love it!" Nero Answered eagerly before blushing.

"You got it" said Dante as he grabbed a few tubs: Caramel Delight, Salted Caramel Delite, Sea Salt Caramel, Caramel Chocolate Crunch.

As he placed them in the basket, Nero asked in a concerned tone "Do you really expect me to carry all that back to Fortuna?"

Dante chuckled at Nero's tone "Nah. Just getting extra for the next time you stop by"

Nero rolled his eyes "What makes you think I'm going to visit again?"

Dante smiled but said nothing.

Just as they were about to leave to go pay, Nero stopped to look at a bottle of caramel syrup.

Dante glanced at Nero, then at the syrup "Ya want some?"

Another shrug from Nero "I don't know. I've never seen caramel syrup"

Smiling softly, Dante grabbed the caramel syrup and tossed it in the basket.

Nero's eye-widened "O-oh. You don't have to---"

"Just for you kid"

\--------------------------

After getting back to the shop, Dante placed the tubs of ice cream in the freezer. Except two. Triple Strawberry Dreams and Salted Caramel Delite.

He brought them to the kitchen as he asked Nero "How big of a bowl do you want?"

"Huh?"

"I'm making sundaes. How big of a bowl do you want yours in?" Dante asked again, this time showing Nero a small bowl and a normal sized cereal bowl.

Nero pointed at the cereal bowl and Dante got right to work.

Nero watched with wide eyes as Dante got large scoops of ice cream and tossed them into their respective bowls: Triple Strawberry Dreams in one and Salted Caramel Delite in the other. Then he drizzled each respective ice cream with the appropriate syrup. Strawberry for Dante and caramel for Nero. Dante finally added fresh strawberries on his and chopped peanuts on Nero's.

Grabbing two large spoons, he placed the bowls on the small dining table.

At the first bite of his sundae, Nero hummed in bliss.

Dante ate his as he asked "So, how long are you going to be visiting?"

Nero shrugged "I don't know. Kyrie told me to stop by"

"Ah. She doing okay?"

Yeah… she's… recovering"

"That's good"

As they ate their sundaes, Dante added "You two are always welcome here, okay?"

\---------------------------------

\---------------------------------

\---------------------------------

**_Five Years Later_ **

After returning to the Human Realm with Vergil, Dante cleaned out one of the spare bedrooms for him to live in.

For the next two months, Dante aided Vergil in getting reintegrated back into the human world: getting fake documents from a few contacts, getting him used to being around people, helping him work on his approach to certain things, everything. 

After a while, Vergil slowly got better at living in the human world. He and Lady were now on better terms. He could look at Trish without scowling. He made an effort to actually talk to Nero; an effort that was much appreciated. 

And finally, he and Dante had started to get along again, after he accidentally threw out one of the tubs of strawberry ice cream. Vergil DID NOT like the cold shoulder and silent treatment that Dante gave him. He DID NOT like being the cause of his little brother's discontent.

Vergil quickly learned his lesson: Don't touch Dante's ice cream.

\-------------------------------

Dante headed down to the basement for some ice cream but much to his horror, the box freezer had no ice cream. Just a few of those frozen meals.  _ Time to get some shopping done. Good thing the last client paid triple… _

As he headed up the basement to leave, he spotted Vergil sitting on the leather sofa by the desk, reading.

"Headed out, Verge"

Vergil looked up from his book "Where?"

Dante simply stated "Need to do some shopping" just as he grabbed his coat, he turned to Vergil "Wanna come along?"

Vergil looked back to his book. Dante knew he was thinking about it.

After a few moments, Vergil shrugged and stood "Why not"

Once they were at the store, Dante automatically grabbed a basket and went to grab his usual groceries and more. With Vergil living with him now, Dante has slowly been learning how to cook real food; not just frozen meals.

After getting a few things, he headed for the ice cream.

Vergil gave Dante an incredulous look "Ice cream, Dante?"

Flashing Vergil a grin, Dante said "What? A man can't treat himself?"

Vergil rolled his eyes with a smirk.

He watched as Dante grabbed multiple tubs of ice cream, all of them strawberry related.

Then Dante eyed the chocolate ice creams.

"What do you want, Verge?"

Vergil raised an eyebrow "Hmm?"

"Which tubs do you want? Grab whatever. It's on me"

Vergil eyed the various chocolate-related flavors of ice cream.

Aftera few minutes, he came to a decision: Chocolate Truffle, Triple Chocolate, Choco-Choco Bomb, and Choco-Fudge.

Dante grabbed a bottle of chocolate syrup and left the aisle to pay.

\-----------------------------

When they reached the shop, they spotted Nero waiting on the steps.

Dante waved at Nero with a smile "Nero!"

Nero glanced up and waved back "Where'd you run off to?"

Dante held up the grocery bags.

Nero perked up "Are you going to make…?"

Dante flashed Nero a toothy grin, confusing Vergil.

Nero was quick to explain "This guy makes the best sundaes"

Vergil smirked "Dante makes something that's edible?"

Nero snickered at Dante's offended look.

Once inside, Dante put all the groceries away and the ice cream in the freezer, sans the Triple Chocolate. He also grabbed the tub of Sea Salt Caramel and Strawberry Swirl.

Vergil watched with great interest as Dante made the sundaes: a bowl of strawberry ice cream with syrup and fresh strawberries, a bowl of salted caramel ice cream with syrup and peanuts, and a bowl of chocolate ice cream with syrup and shaved chocolate.

Grabbing three spoons, he placed each bowl on the table.

Nero eagerly dug in "Thanks, old man"

Vergil observed Nero before asking "You like caramel?"

Nero nodded "Yeah?" he noticed the strange look in his father's eyes "Why?"

"Your grandfather was a fan of caramel as well"

Nero nearly choked on his ice cream "R-really?"

Vergil nodded as he took a small spoonful of ice cream "Oh yes. He especially love the chewy caramels"

Nero stared at his ice cream "Wow…"

As the three ate their frozen treats, similar thoughts buzzed through their minds.

Dante no longer felt alone in his shop. No longer was it the cold dark shop. It was now home.

Nero was happy to have found his family. Along with Kyrie and the kids, he now has his father and uncle to lean on.

For Vergil, a light was shining on him. For the first time in decades, he felt at home.

They all have each other now.


End file.
